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“You shall command the children of Israel to bring to you pure oil of beaten olives for the light, to make the lamps shine continually. In the Tent of Meeting, outside the veil which is before the Testimony, Aaron and his sons shall maintain it in order from evening to morning before Jehovah; it shall be a perpetual statute to be observed throughout their generations by the children of Israel” (Exo. 27:20-21). We are told here that the priests must do two things with the lamp. First, they must light the lamp with the pure olive oil. Second, they must order, or arrange, the lamp.
Then let us read Exodus 30:7-10: “Aaron shall burn on it fragrant incense; every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall burn it. And when Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he shall burn it, a perpetual incense before Jehovah throughout your generations. You shall not offer any strange incense on it, or a burnt offering or a meal offering; and you shall not pour a drink offering on it. And Aaron shall make expiation on its horns once a year; with the blood of the sin offering of expiation once a year he shall make expiation for it throughout your generations. It is most holy to Jehovah.” In these verses to dress the lamps means the same as to maintain the order in chapter 27.
Now we must read Psalm 119:147-149: “I anticipated the dawn and cried out; / I hoped in Your words. / My eyes anticipated the night watches, / That I might muse upon Your word. / Hear my voice according to Your lovingkindness; / O Jehovah, according to Your ordinances enliven me.” Here David is praying and dealing with the word in the early morning. We see that his praying was mingled with the reading of the word.
Finally, we must read John 15:7: “If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.” From this verse we see that when we have the word abiding in us, we will get the answer to whatever we pray.
In the last chapter we saw that the main commission of the priesthood is to burn the incense. We need to be impressed that the burning of the incense is the central matter of everything in the tabernacle, God’s dwelling place. We know that there is the outer court and then the tabernacle with the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. In the Holy of Holies there is the Ark, which is a type of Christ, and it is on this Ark that God meets with His people. This is the place where man can meet God. Then there is the lampstand, the table of the bread of the Presence, and also the golden incense altar for the priests to burn the incense. These are the things within the tabernacle. There are two other things outside the tabernacle in the outer court—the laver for cleansing and the burnt-offering altar to offer the sacrifices.
If we look at a chart of the tabernacle showing all these things, we see that the incense altar is the very center of the whole tabernacle. It is the very center of God’s building, God’s habitation. The incense altar is for man to meet God at the Ark.
By this we may realize that all the things in the tabernacle are for the incense altar. The offering altar, the laver, the table of the bread of the Presence, and the lampstand are all for the incense altar, and the incense altar is for man to contact God at the Ark.
All this is a prefigure, a shadow, of the church. The tabernacle is a type of the church as God’s habitation among man. Today the church is the real tabernacle for God. In the church there is the reality of Christ as the Ark in which, on which, and by which God can meet man and man can meet God. In the church man can meet God on Christ, in Christ, and with Christ. But how can this be done? This can be done only by having the altar for the offerings, the table of the bread of the Presence for the life supply, and the lampstand for the light. All these things are for the burning of the incense through which man can meet God in Christ.
In the last chapter we saw that the offering altar has much to do with the incense altar. The altar outside the tabernacle is for the offerings, and the altar inside the tabernacle is for the incense. The blood of the offering altar has to be brought into the tabernacle and sprinkled upon the four corners of the incense altar. This is to bring the effectiveness of Christ’s redemption to the incense altar. If we are going to pray, we must pray upon the redemption of Christ. Without the effectiveness of the redemption of Christ through the power of the blood, our prayer will never be acceptable. Our prayer must be based upon the redeeming blood shed by Christ on the cross. The redemption of Christ has much to do with our prayers. Without the redeeming blood, none of our prayers will be accepted by God.
We have also seen that the incense must be burned with the fire that was taken from the offering altar. The fire used to burn the incense must be the fire that comes down from heaven to burn the offerings. Otherwise, we will burn the incense with strange fire. So again we can see that the offering altar has much to do with the incense altar.
The priests who went in to burn the incense were the ones who offered the sacrifices on the offering altar. By offering the sacrifices, they simply enjoyed all the offerings as their food. The offerings became their food. This typifies Christ as our food. We must feed on Him and learn to enjoy Him. Then, when we come into the tabernacle to burn the incense, the incense is also Christ. The offerings are Christ, and the incense is Christ. The offerings are for our food, and the incense is for God’s enjoyment. This means that the offerings are for our enjoyment, and the incense is for God’s enjoyment and satisfaction. When we are filled with Christ as our enjoyment, we offer the very Christ who is our satisfaction and enjoyment to God as His satisfaction and enjoyment. This is the incense. Christ at the offering altar is our offering, and the same Christ at the incense altar is God’s incense.
If we are not satisfied and filled with Christ as our enjoyment, how can we offer Christ to God as His enjoyment? First of all, we must be filled with Christ. Then we will have something of Christ to bring to God in our prayer, that is, to express something of Christ from within to God as the ascending sweet savor for His enjoyment and satisfaction.
Therefore, to burn the incense we need the redeeming blood, the offering fire, and the enjoyment of the offering. We need the blood, the fire, and Christ as our enjoyment. Then we can burn the incense by praying through the blood, through the cross, and with Christ as our satisfaction. Out from Christ we will have something sweet and fragrant to offer to God as a sweet savor. This is the incense as our prayer to God. This prayer is pleasing and acceptable to God because it is by the redeeming blood, the consuming cross, and the satisfying Christ.
Now we must see that the lampstand also has something to do with the burning of the incense. Not only the altar but also the lighting of the lamp is connected with burning the incense. We have seen in the above Scriptures that whenever the priests burned the incense, they lit the lamp, and whenever they lit the lamp, they burned the incense. This means that whenever we read the Word (light the lamp), we must pray (burn the incense). To burn the incense is to pray, and to light the lamp is to deal with the Word. God’s Word is the light, so whenever we deal with this Word, we light the lamp. Reading and praying must be one thing. They must be mingled together as one. When the priests light the lamp, they must also burn the incense.
Without lighting the lamp, the priests will burn the incense in darkness. This means that without reading the Word, we pray in darkness, in a foolish way. Because we do not have the light, we are in darkness. Without the light of the lamp, there is no enlightenment. This shows us that whenever we are going to pray, we must first deal with the Word of God. When we read the Bible, we light the lamp and are in the light. Then we know how to pray. Otherwise, whatever we pray will be in darkness.
Many times we pray in a natural way according to our concept because we have not been enlightened by the Word. This kind of prayer will not be accepted as an offering to God. When we come to contact the Lord, we must be in fear and trembling. We know that our sins have been washed away, but if we do not first deal with the Word to receive the light, we may pray in a natural way according to our disposition. This kind of prayer is an offense to the Lord. It will not be a sweet savor to Him. So before we pray, we must read the Word to be enlightened. We must light the lamp.
If the sisters want to pray about their husbands, they must first read the Word. When they read the Word, they light the lamp, and they are enlightened. This enlightening changes their concept of prayer. Without reading the Word, they may pray in one way for their husbands. But after reading the Word, they will pray in the proper way. The way is changed, but the subject remains the same.
Suppose a sister is going to pray for her husband. Before reading the Word, she intends to pray in this way: “Lord, You know my husband has a bad temper, and it is so easy for him to lose it. I just cannot do anything, Lord. You must deal with him.” Before reading the Word, this is the way she intends to pray. But, by reading the Word she realizes that it is not a matter of asking the Lord to deal with her husband, but that she herself needs to be dealt with. After reading the Word, her prayer is changed. She prays, “Lord, I do thank You for Your sovereignty in giving me such a good husband. I do need Your grace that I may learn the lesson to be dealt with.” These are two ways of praying, but which way is acceptable to the Lord? The first way is really not a prayer at all, but an accusation. A sister who prays in this way is not praying for her husband but is accusing him before the Lord. It is only when we are in the light by reading the Word that we will pray in the second way.
I am afraid that when some of the brothers pray for the elders, they pray in an accusing way: “Lord, You know the elders. I cannot help the situation. You must come in to vindicate.” Is this a real prayer or an accusation? One thing is sure: such a prayer by anyone is certain to be a prayer apart from dealing with the Word. This is burning the incense without lighting the lamp. It is burning the incense in darkness. However, if we will first light the lamp by dealing with the Word, our concept will be changed. We will pray, “Lord, have mercy upon me. It is not my brother that needs Your dealing, but I!”
How we need the lighting of the lamp before the burning of the incense. We must have the real dealing with the Word before we pray. The light from the Word will expose us, and this will enlighten us to have the right words to pray. So many intended prayers are simply canceled by reading the Word, and so many right prayers come out of the reading of the Word. The proper prayer, the right prayer, must be the prayer issuing out of the light from reading the Word.
Now we must see another practical matter. In the Old Testament time, pure oil of beaten olives was used for the light of the lamp. We know that oil in typology signifies the Spirit. Just as the oil was needed to light the lamp, we need the Spirit to enlighten the Word. Without the Holy Spirit the Word does not shine. Darby tells us that to light the lamp means to cause the lamp to rise up. This is quite interesting, for many times when we read the Word some of the words rise up and give light.
How does the Word give this kind of light? It is only by the Spirit, the oil, and the oil today is in our spirit. Whenever we come to read the Word, we must exercise our spirit. Then, in our spirit the pure olive oil will rise up to cause the Word to give us light. When we read the Word by exercising only our mentality and understanding, it does not give light. But if we exercise our spirit to contact the Word, immediately we sense something enlightening and rising up within our spirit. Then the Word becomes the living Word within us. It is through the indwelling Spirit as the pure oil that we have the light. The Word will be lightened and will give us light.
It is the pure oil of beaten olives that gives the light. Is not the Holy Spirit pure? Yes, the Holy Spirit is pure, but our spirit is not so pure. Our spirit has to be purified and beaten. This is the work of the cross. In typology, Christ is the olive. When He was beaten and pressed on the cross, the pure oil, that is, the Holy Spirit, came out of Him.
It is the same today. You and I need to be purified; we need to be beaten and pressed. Many times when we read a verse from the Word, there is simply no light. There is no light until one day we are under a certain kind of pressure. Under this pressure we come back to the same Word again, and then it gives the light.
We need to be purified, and we need to be pressed and beaten. We need a certain kind of pressure. Then the Spirit will come out, and the Word will be lightened; the lamp will be lit for us to be under its enlightening. This is the way we must pray and offer something to God. I must tell you again that whatever we utter to God as prayer in this way will be something purely of Christ. It will not be a natural prayer, but a real, sweet savor to God.
So we have seen clearly that if we are going to contact the Lord, we must know how to exercise our spirit, and we must know how to deal with the Word. Then we will know what to pray. Every morning and every evening we must exercise our spirit to deal with the Word to light the lamp. Then we will be enlightened and know what to express to God. By this kind of prayer, whatever we utter will be something of Christ as the sweet incense unto God.
The psalmist says that he rose up early to pray, but he prayed by dealing with the Word. Without the Word, which is the light, he could not pray to burn the incense. The Lord Jesus said, “If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7). This means that we must be enlightened and dealt with by the Word in order to know what to pray.
We must put all these principles into practice every time we come to the Lord to contact Him. We must realize the blood, the consuming fire, and the satisfaction of Christ. Then we must learn how to exercise our spirit so that the Holy Spirit may have a free way to enlighten the Word of God that we may get the light. Under this enlightening, we will have the utterance to express something which issues out of Christ as the sweet incense to God. Then not only will we be satisfied, but God also will be satisfied. It will be a real satisfaction both to us and to God.
May the Lord be merciful to us in order that we may meet Him and fellowship with Him day by day, morning and evening, in this way.
